Free Gentle Yoga Class for Federal Workers

Stillness + Movement is a virtual yoga studio created and held by Francesca Cervero. We offer sustainable, mindful vinyasa flow classes.

We weave thoughtful vinyasa flow movement practices with Buddhist teachings because we love the way sustained movement and deep presence complement each other. We combine awareness, breath, and vinyasa with somatic practices and functional strength training to fill the movement gaps left in the way asana is often practiced in the west.

Stillness + Movement welcomed it’s first student on March 25, 2020.

Great question! You can read our teaching philosophy right here!

Francesca Cervero has been a full-time yoga teacher since 2005. Her teaching is inspired by her foundational training at OM Yoga Center, the years she spent as a dancer and the subsequent years she spent in physical therapy. Her teaching is also influenced by her love of Buddhist teachings and a constant curiosity about anatomy and biomechanics. She is in private practice teaching a full schedule of 1×1 clients, mentors yoga teachers in The Science of the Private Lesson™and hosts the podcast, The Mentor Sessions: Support & Strategy for Yoga Teachers.

To learn more about our teachers, click here!

We love props and use them quite a lot in our teaching. Most yoga props can be created with things around the house if needed. In place of a yoga strap you could use a scarf or tie. Instead of a yoga bolster you can use firm couch or bed cushions. Instead of a yoga blanket you can use bath towels or any firm blanket. If you don’t have tennis balls you can use a rolled up pair of thick socks.

The one prop we feel is hard to replace with a household item is a yoga block. These or these are our favorites, but anything this shape will do, including large tupperware containers. A firm-bottomed chair is also really wonderful to have if you don’t have blocks.

You’ll receive an email 30 minutes prior to class with the suggested props and Spotify playlist.

Classes are taught in specific levels. Everyone is welcome in all classes, but we are clear about what does and does not happen in each level so students can make empowered choices about what kind of physical practice is right for them.

We don’t believe in a universal, prescribed kind of progress, but do we believe that everyone’s needs can be best met when there is a system of leveled classes, with clarity about what is taught in each class, so students are able to make informed choices and know what to expect in each class.

Of course! Click here to read the class descriptions.

We teach with primarily verbal cues. We believe we can offer the most help to our students if we can actually see them, so this means we teach with primarily verbal cues, and we do very little physical demonstration.

We believe this way of teaching helps students drop deeper into presence, and is another way our teaching reflects our values. With limited physical demonstration, the focus moves away from the aesthetics of a shape and towards the experience of the practice. In our view, this is much more important. We are also able to adjust our own cueing, language, and sequencing when we can clearly see how it is landing with our students. We adjust ourselves so we can meet our students where they are and give them what they need.

Classes are taught on Zoom where your teacher can see you, offer you support and suggestions as well as alter their own language, cueing and sequencing to meet the needs of the students that are present. The classes are taught with mostly verbal cues, so you don’t have to watch the screen the whole time and are able to turn your attention inward and be inside your own practice.

If you have not used Zoom before check out this Zoom How-To Manual we made for you, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Jess at support@francescacervero.com if you have any questions!